THE LAPHROAIG PALOMA

Breathing fresh energy into a well-established whisky

Introducing the new hero serve for Laphroaig 10 Year Old that’s shaking up how consumers perceive Islay single malts. A brave choice of cocktail, fitting for this bold and characterful spirit.

Serve Strategy | On-Trade | Photography | Video Production

The Challenge

The brand team enlisted our expertise to celebrate Laphroaig’s bold and characterful spirit by developing a new serve strategy to reignite the on-trade’s passion for this globally established brand. It was an exciting opportunity to develop a contemporary serve that appealed to a wide audience, inviting bartenders to experiment, mix and move beyond viewing Laphroaig’s strong smokiness as a barrier they hesitated to take on.  

The Approach

Inspiring serves come from thinking differently and breaking boundaries

Breaking boundaries and celebrating flavour is what gives drinks brands the power to stand out in crowded categories. We leaned into the rule breaking attitude of mezcal to devise a lighter, refreshing, daytime-inspired cocktail – a more daring approach than other single malt whisky brands.  

After testing our ideas through recipe development and across the market, the Laphroaig Paloma was born: a serve that lent itself perfectly to Laphroaig’s DNA of Peat + Salt + Fire, created to be scalable for both large-scale and halo accounts.

Eye-catching serve rituals catch attention

The Laphroaig Paloma serve ritual offered theatre and elevated the drinking occasion. Premium glassware and garnishing tools – including branded pins, menus, posters and a tasting mat– were developed to craft a distinctive look, while supporting bartenders in a meaningful way.

Always drive to online to reach a global audience

Although the serve strategy was primarily created for the on-trade, the increasingly important at-home drinking occasion wasn’t forgotten. By working in collaboration with the filmmakers, Pretend Lovers, and the Scottish photographer, Murray Orr, we executed captivating moving and still imagery to breathe life into this hero serve and drive interest through digital/social media platforms. Each allowed Laphroaig to reach both local and global consumers and encouraged people to try the Laphroaig Paloma.

THE WONDER

We loved working alongside the team at Laphroaig to put a contemporary spin on an historic connoisseurs’ brand, showcasing its bold and characterful spirit through an accessible new hero serve.

Cheers to sipping Laphroaig Palomas at our favourite social get-togethers and beyond.